Ecological footprint in the OECD countries: do energy efficiency and renewable energy matter?

Ecological footprint (EFP) measures the amount of area, that is land or sea, which is required to absorb the waste generated through human activities or to support the production of resources consumed by populations. EFP index therefore includes six dimensions that are cropland, forestland, carbon, fishing grounds, grazing land, and built-up area. Human activities have impacted the environment, leading to global warming, widespread droughts, and diseases. The present study aims to investigate the role of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency on the EFP index. Past researchers have widely used carbon emission (CE) to represent environmental impact, and recent studies have shown that EFP index is a better proxy of environmental degradation. Therefore, the present research differs from past studies in that it compares on how the determinants of environmental degradation affects EFP index and CE. Panel dataset of the OECD countries from 1990 to 2020 is employed. The CS-ARDL, DCCEMG, and AMG techniques, which overcome dynamics, heterogeneity, and cross-sectional dependence, are employed. The main findings depict that RE significantly reduces EFP and CE, while economic growth significantly exacerbates them. Energy efficiency reduces CE, but does not significantly affect EFP. Non-renewable energy and research & development significantly increase CE, while an insignificant positive effect is observed with EFP. This paper shows that factors that significantly influence CE may not always significantly affect the EFP index. Thus, to reduce environmental degradation it is fundamental to understand on how each dimension of EFP is influenced.

The effect of forest resources, energy efficiency, and renewable energy on environmental degradation-a comparative analysis of the less- and high-emitter sub-Saharan African countries.

Environmental degradation is one of the main causes of concern in the world. There is a dilemma on policies that are devised to improve the quality of the environment with those meant to promote economic growth, since factors that foster economic growth degrade the environment. The present research seeks to examine the influence of energy efficiency, forest resources, and renewable energy among the less-emitter and high-emitter sub-Saharan African nations, for the period 1990 to 2020. The present research is significant in providing a comparative analysis of less- and high-emitter sub-Saharan African nations on this subject, hence the main novelty of the research. The panel Autoregressive distributive lag and cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributive methods are used for data analysis, and their results are compared and contrasted. The research presents in its findings that renewable energy, forest resources, and energy efficiency improve the environment, while economic growth distorts the environment in both regions. No asymmetries exist between the less- and high-emitter sub-Saharan African nations, on the impact of energy efficiency, economic growth, forest resources, and renewable energy to the environment. Non-renewable energy, in the high-emitter sub-Saharan African nations, degrades the environment. The policy recommendations are also given in line with the research findings.

The role forest resources, energy efficiency, and renewable energy in promoting environmental quality.

At a time when environmental concerns are rising in the world, natural resources, such as trees and other green plants, remain the most crucial factors responsible for reducing environmental degradation. Green plants inhale carbon dioxide and prevent the soil from wash and wear, hence their significant role in enhancing environmental quality. Therefore, it is essential to come up with state-of-the-art researches on the role of green plants to the environment. The present research is aimed at adding to the growing body of literature by investigating the effect of forest resources, together with renewable energy and energy efficiency in enhancing environmental quality. In this research, we use the data of the seven emerging countries, seven developed nations and 15 developing west African nations, from 1990 to 2019. The current research adds to the growing body of literature in that it presents a comparative analysis of the three important economic blocks, as well as employing three major methodologies of data analysis, the CS-ARDL, AMG, and CCEMG techniques, which are strong over cross-sectional dependence, heterogeneity, and dynamics. Major research outcomes show that renewable energy and energy efficiency negatively affects carbon emissions, while gross domestic product positively affects carbon emissions in all three regions. Population size and forest resources reduces carbon emissions in the emerging countries and seven developed countries, respectively. Non-renewable energy promotes carbon emissions in the seven developed countries, while in the emerging countries it reduces emissions. This research recommends the efficient utilization of energy, use of renewable energy, and forest preservation to promote carbon neutrality goal.

The impact of energy efficiency in reducing environmental degradation: does renewable energy and forest resources matter?

The vast utilisation of energy sources in promoting economic growth has been identified as the major cause of environmental degradation (through carbon emission). Therefore, the efficient utilisation of energy ensuring the minimisation of any wastages is vital in reducing environmental degradation. The current research aims to investigate the importance of energy efficiency, forest resources, and renewable energy in reducing environmental degradation. The major novelty of the research is that it seeks to investigate the impact of forest resources and energy efficiency on carbon emissions. Literature shows that there is still a dearth on the association of forest resources and energy efficiency, with carbon emissions. We employ data of the European Union countries for the time frame ranging from 1990 to 2020. The CS-ARDL technique depicts that raising GDP by 1% raises carbon emissions by 5.62% in the short run and 2.93% in the long run, raising renewable energy by 1 unit reduces carbon emissions by 0.098 and 0.03 units in the short and long run, respectively, whilst raising energy efficiency by 1% reduces carbon emissions by 6.29% and 3.29% in the short and long run, respectively. The Fixed Effect and Random Effect tools support the outcomes of the CS-ARDL tool on the negative effect of renewable energy and energy efficiency, and the positive effect of GDP on carbon emissions, and also depict that raising non-renewable energy by a single unit raises carbon emissions by 0.07 and 0.08 units, respectively. Forest resources, in this present research, do not significantly impact the emissions of carbon amongst the European nations.

The effect of GDP, renewable energy and total energy supply on carbon emissions in the EU-27: new evidence from panel GMM.

The vast usages of sources of energy that pollute the environment have resulted in major problems of global warming in the world. Global warming and greenhouse effect causes droughts, hunger, and starvation among many other health problems. In this research, the effect of energy use, economic, growth, and renewable energy on carbon emissions, in the European Union region from 1990 to 2019, is examined. The current study differs from previous researches, in that it specifies "effective capital" which is the interaction between energy and capital (a product of energy and capital) in the model. Effective capital is inevitable in the production process because physical capital such as machinery, without power or energy to fuel it, is dysfunctional. The current research employs the Generalized Method of Moments which is strong over endogeneity and overcomes heteroskedasticity, serial, and autocorrelation problems. The findings of this research support past studies that renewable energy reduces carbon emissions and gross domestic product exacerbates carbon emissions. Effective capital and energy use are observed to promote carbon emissions, whereas capital and population size reduces carbon emissions in the European Union.

Exchange rate stability in the emerging economies: does renewable energy play a role-a panel data analysis.

Due to the high and rising rates of carbon emissions, the use of renewable energy sources has been encouraged to help achieve carbon neutrality goal. However, renewable energy sources are said to be expensive than fossil fuels. Major studies have been undertaken to ascertain the association between renewable energy and many economic indicators, such as gross domestic product, employment rate, and inflation rate. The current study is aimed at investigating whether renewable energy use helps stabilize the foreign exchange rate of emerging economies, which has not been widely examined in the past, hence the study originality. Stability in the foreign exchange rate of a nation is very crucial as this helps to stabilize the inflation rate. This study employs the fully modified ordinary least and dynamic ordinary least square methods to analyze panel data of emerging economies. The findings indicate that high real interest rate and gross domestic product causes appreciation in the currency exchange of a country, while high balance of payment, inflation rate and renewable energy consumption are found to cause currency depreciation. The Pedroni and Kao cointegration tests are employed and the results show that a long-run relationship exists among the variables examined. This research recommends balance of payments and inflation rate to be minimized if exchange rate stability is to be achieved, while gross domestic product and real interest rate should be increased.

The role of clean energy in the development of sustainable tourism: does renewable energy use help mitigate environmental pollution? A panel data analysis.

The tourism industry has long been accused of being the major driver of global warming as a result of the size of the industry and its subsequent high energy consumption, most of which comes from sources that emit carbon dioxide. However, in spite of the criticism directed towards tourism due to its negative effects on the environment, there is a scarcity of research that has aimed to ascertain its impact on the environment, thus revealing the existence of a gap in the literature. The current study uses a dynamic GMM model for 38 OECD countries from 2008 to 2019 for the purpose of filling the gap in the literature by investigating the effects of tourism development on the environment, as well as ascertaining the role of renewable energy in mitigating environmental impact. Unlike past studies that have alluded to the fact that tourism development exacerbates the emissions of carbon dioxide and hence global warming, the current research shows that in the OECD countries, tourism does not have any significant link with greenhouse gas emissions. This is because OECD nations have long started to shift from the use of fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy that do not exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions. However, the current research concurs with the findings of past studies that renewable energy consumption significantly decreases greenhouse gas emissions. The use of renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels should continue to be encouraged in all nations for the purpose of achieving the carbon neutrality goal of the United Nations.

Does renewable energy use enhance exchange rate appreciation and stable rate of inflation?

The current study is aimed at investigating the relationship between the use of renewable energy, the rate of currency exchange, and the rate of inflation with the ARDL model. The findings of the ECM show that in the long run, a bidirectional association between exchange rate and renewable energy exists in Brazil. This shows that the rate of currency exchange affects the use of renewable energy, and the use of renewable energy affects the rate of currency exchange. The inflation rate also affects renewable energy and exchange rate in the long run. The rate of adjustment to equilibrium is also below 50%, indicating that it will take a long time to adjust to long-run equilibrium. In the short run, we ascertain that renewable energy use has a significant negative effect on the rate of currency exchange, showing that a rise in the use of renewable energy significantly causes the exchange rate to appreciate. The long-run results show that renewable energy use negatively impacts exchange rate (appreciation), while the inflation rate and rate of currency exchange significantly affect the use of renewable energy positively. Thus, in addition to lowering carbon dioxide emissions and global warming effects, renewable energy use also facilitates an improvement in the currency's value. Therefore, the use of renewable energy should be promoted, and nations should shift to the use of renewable energy. This will also promote zero carbon in the future.